Triathlon

Overview

In the triathlon, athletes compete in consecutive events of swimming, cycling and running. In the Paralympic triathlon, the use of supportive equipment and the modification of tools is permitted according to the type and extent of the athletes' impairments.

Sets of rules are established for the safety of para-triathletes with different types of impairments, as well as to ensure that the competition is as fair as possible. The three events in the para-triathlon are a 0.75km swim, a 20km cycle and a 5km run (the total distance is 25.75km, half that of the Olympic triathlon).

History

In the triathlon, both able-bodied and impaired athletes can compete in the same race if the environment permits. Several triathletes with impairments have completed the race together with the able-bodied. Since shortly after the birth of the triathlon in the 1980s, athletes with an impairment have taken on the challenge of competing in the triathlon alongside their able-bodied counterparts. The triathlon madeits Paralympic Games debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.